Regional Health Care Innovations Discussed at Jmore Panel Discussion and Networking Event

(Left to right) Dr. Jonathan S. Thierman of LifeBridge Health, Jennifer Main of Amalgam Rx, Marina Cecchini of Sheppard Pratt, Dr. Aaron P. Rapoport of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and moderator Gary Stein. (Photo by John Coulson)

Jmore’s third annual “JBiz Innovation in Health Care” gathering was held Wednesday evening, Oct. 20, at Pikesville’s Citron restaurant.

The networking event and panel discussion was attended by a limited number of audience members due to COVID-19 restrictions, but livestreamed and recorded at facebook.com/jmoreliving.

This year’s panelists featured Marina Cecchini, chief administrative officer of Sheppard Pratt’s new Baltimore/Washington Campus; Jennifer Main, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Amalgam Rx; Dr. Aaron P. Rapoport, professor of clinical oncology and director of the transplant and cell therapy program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Dr. Jonathan S. Thierman, chief medical information officer at LifeBridge Health, chief medical officer of LifeBridge Health Partners and president of the medical staff at Northwest Hospital

The panel discussion, moderated by Gary Stein, focused on regional innovations in health care during the pandemic.

The event was co-sponsored by Nemphos Braue LLC, LifeBridge Health, Sheppard Pratt, the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center and Citron.

After introductions by Jmore Publisher Dr. Scott M. Rifkin and opening remarks from George Nemphos of Nemphos Braue, Stein asked each panelist to share why they entered the health care field. Then, he asked them to talk about innovations taking place at their respective institutions.

Dr. Thierman said LifeBridge Health began its “tele-health journey” several years ago, putting the health care system ahead of the curve. Prior to the pandemic, he said the system faced obstacles in convincing providers and patients to accept the new modality, and insurance companies to reimburse for tele-health appointments.

“Once the pandemic hit, everyone wanted tele-health,” he said. “COVID bore the path to acceptance.”

At the peak of the pandemic, Dr. Thierman said LifeBridge Health conducted 90% of its patient care through tele-health. “Now, we see 10-12% [use of] tele-health across the system. That’s an appropriate place to be,” he said.

Main described her company, Amalgam RX, as a “digital health company that combines clinical and behavioral interventions to support patients, providers and life sciences.” She discussed the challenges of keeping health care costs down while providing effective patient care.

“We want to provide value-based care that prevents illness,” said Main. “In the 1990s, we had HMOs [health maintenance organizations], but they weren’t good enough. In 2016, we had the Affordable Health Care plan, but that wasn’t good enough either. The key thing is that there is friction in the daily interactions between patient and doctor. Doctors don’t have enough information when they’re in the room with patients. … They need live information about whether insurance will pay in real-time in the office. That’s what we hope to have in the future.”

Cecchini spoke of her tremendous pride in Sheppard Pratt’s Baltimore/Washington campus in Elkridge. The new facility has just 85 in-patient beds, but Cecchini said most of the patients treated at Sheppard Pratt these days do not require long-term inpatient care.

Many of the patients who arrive at the hospital in crisis can be examined in the new urgent care clinic, she said, instead of the emergency room. Also, Cecchini said most of these patients can be treated in the Sheppard’s various day hospital programs.

Like LifeBridge, Sheppard Pratt provided a great deal of their patient care via tele-health during the pandemic.

“Tele-health came of age during the pandemic,” said Cecchini, adding, “It’s a pleasure to work at a place that is so forward-thinking about mental health treatment.”

Dr. Rapoport spoke optimistically about the fight against cancer. In particular, he discussed advances taking place in the treatment of blood cancers, specifically CAR T-cell therapy. CAR T-cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses specially altered T cells — a part of the immune system — to fight cancer. 

Dr. Rapoport said CAR T-cell therapy, which can be used for children and adults, is an innovative treatment in which a patient’s own cells are isolated and changed in the laboratory. When reintroduced to the patient’s body, the altered cells attack and kill the patient’s cancer cells.

“CAR T-cell therapy is the realization of a dream to harness the power of the patient’s own immune system,” said Dr. Rapoport. “These treatments can cure cancers that couldn’t be cured by anything else. With CAR T-cell therapy, there is a 50% long term survival rate compared to a 0% survival rate before these therapies.”

Watch a replay of the event here:

Brought to you by:

Nemphos Braue
Lifebridge Health
sheppard pratt
UMGCCC Logo
Citron
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